Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey guys,

From Aug 3rd through the 13th I'll be on vacation at the Galápagos Islands. I wrote an extensive care-sheet covering about everthing on the chameleons (trying to keep it simple, too) for my 'pet-sitter'. She'll be caring for Capuchi and Cobalt (1.0 Veiled, 1.0 Panther)

Last year when I was away for 8 days I returned with neither chameleon in good shape. Currently, both are about to go into a shed, and I think the sitter will have some trouble with humidity, as the last one certainly did.

Any advice you guys could throw at me about anything that would make her job a little easier? Cobalt's getting older, I don't want to be too hard on him...Thanks!
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Michele

I say get an automatic mister on a timer. Im sure keeping the humidity up will be her only problem and this will eliminate it. Zoo Med has one called the Habba Mister. I used it with good sucess. The settings for when it sprays and how long it sprays are a little weird but do the job nicely.

A habba mister will run you about $50, but i say worth it. All the sitter would need to do is just will up the reservoir (which is a little small, but can easily be expanded), check the lights, feed em, and clean up the terds.

Consider getting it, its a good product and works well!
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Eric

I fight for the unconventional
My right, and its unconditional
I can only, be as real as i can
The disadvantage is
I never knew the plan
This isnt the way just to be a martyr
I cant, walk alone any longer
I fight, for the ones that cant fight
And if I lose, at least I tried....
(Slipknotulse of the Maggots)

I used it and had little luck. I could not get the settings to spray long enough to keep my cham sufficiently hydrated. The longest it sprays is a minute, and that was way too short. If you can get it to spray longer, into the 5-10min range, it would be a better product.
It also makes a lot of noise, which may scare the chams if they are not used to it (on theplus side, they learn to associate the noise with water & will learn to run to the spray to drink when they hear it... tho it's about 1/2 over by the time the chams get to it).
Just some things to consider.
~C
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1.1 Crested Gecko (Anton/Angelina & Harley)
1.1 Crazy dogs (Alex & Sadie)
0.2 Vacationing Kitties (Puddy, PeeWee)
0.1 Amazing Wife =o)
Charlie - RIP 9-8-05 (Veiled Cham)

a little brother. I'm telling you, I trust him with all my animals We are going to Tahiti for 2 weeks in Sept. and it's nice to not have to worry who is going to watch the pets. The only "training" I have to do is teach him how NOT to feed the fish all the time. He likes to watch them eat and tends to "spoil" them too much....
My advice for your sitter would be to move the Chams in the bathroom, and use a cool mist humidifier with the door closed during the day. Leave the door open at night so the room can dry out, but the chams won't. Mist them as often as possible, and shower every other day. When she showers the chams, make sure she closes the door so the humidity stays high. Two chams should be pretty easy to care for......
Have fun
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TFFF
(Tootie Freakin' Fruity Feenie)

Both your suggestions are good. I already do have a habba mist, and 2 cool-mist humidifiers, but filling up the reservoir and messing with the settings and all that is probably a little overwhelming for her. I think I'll move them to the bathroom where the humidity can stay at a constant high, but low humidity wouldn't do too much harm in a span 10 days...

Yeah Feen, I have a little bro- and a little sis. Too bad they're coming along with me on vacay, same with my parents. I'm missing college and work to go, but it's free!
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Michele

You're going to have a fabulous time (and for free, what a bonus)! I was in the Galapagos at Christmas and still have trouble describing it to people - it's THAT different and special. Are you touring with a boat or staying on an island? We stayed on an island for a week but could easily have stayed longer.

Many people consider it a once in a lifetime trip; have a great time!

Meemee

Meemee,

We're getting a private boat and going Island hopping every day to a new Island throughout the 10 days. I'm really excited, I've heard it's amazing because the animals aren't accustomed to seeing humans on a regular basis and have no reason to fear us. I wanna get my picture taken with a baby sea-lion LOL.

Well, I'm glad you had a good time- Hope I have as great a time as you did!
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Michele